New York, When Lending Stops [Housing Tracker]

Seeking Alpha's Housing Tracker is a collection of housing-related excerpts from various sources, grouped by topic. Feel free to post any interesting links on the subject in the comments section below.

Quote of the Day

“Today, the entire financial system needs a lubricant. It’s kind of like driving your car after running out of oil and the engine seizes up. If there’s no liquidity and no financing, everything seizes up.” - Barry M. Gosin, chief executive of Newmark Knight Frank, a national real estate firm based in New York. NY’s real estate market is “frozen” according to industry insiders. (NY Times, Oct. 1)

House Sales/Price Data

Failed Deals Replace Boom in New York Real Estate. “NY: Developers are complaining that lenders are now refusing to finance projects that were all but certain months or even weeks ago. Landlords bewail their inability to refinance skyscrapers with blue-chip tenants. And corporations are afraid to relocate within Manhattan for fear of making the wrong move if rents fall or a flagging economy forces layoffs…  On Friday, Standard & Poor’s dropped its rating on the bonds used in Tishman’s $5.4 billion purchase of the Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village apartment complexes in 2006, the biggest real estate deal in modern history. Standard & Poor’s said it cut the rating, in part, because of an estimated 10% decline in the properties’ value and the rapid depletion of reserve funds.” (NY Times, Oct. 1)

Manhattan Rental Market. “Report. Daniel Baum, COO, TREGNY: “The rental market appears to be bucking seasonality trends and possibly starting to gain footing. This year, the summer upswing that we would normally expect to see was absent, making September’s gains appear as a rebound. And while August’s slump questioned a link between the sales and rental markets, it seems the rental market is finally seeing a benefit from sluggish sales. As Congress debates a credit market fix, Manhattan property owners have created their own “rental market fix.” Making a concerted effort to lower vacancies and prices, inventories have fallen for the second consecutive month. This much needed correction is giving Manhattan a fresh breath of stability, which is good news for both renters and property owners alike. (The Real Estate Group of NY, Oct. 2008)

                                                      

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